Legacy
by Shivering.Shadow
Summary: Fred's lack of resemblance to his sister Roxanne was something no one in the extended Weasley family dare bring up. A tale of love, betrayal, and loss. Pre- and Post-Battle of Hogwarts. AU and rated M for adult situations. FanNoWriMo 2013 & entry for The Tearjerker Challenge.
1. Prologue

With her dark brown skin, sky-blue eyes, deep black hair, and freckles, there was no doubt that Roxanne Weasley took after both of her parents. Her older brother Fred, on the other hand, was an anomaly. Although he would be undeniably good looking, with his chestnut brown hair, sloe black eyes, and casual look of relaxation, he lacked all the things that would make him obviously a Weasley or a Johnson. His nose was pert and delicate to George's almost too-long one, his skin unmarred by freckles, his pale skin without a trace of his mother's colour in him. He held a passing resemblance to his father George, but only if you looked very closely.

As the small family shopped in Diagon Alley for Fred's first year school supplies, looks from other shoppers followed them.

Since his brother's death, George had been more hands-off with the Diagon Alley store, leaving it for Lee to manage. He preferred occasionally clerking their Hogsmeade location as well as working on steady product invention. Thus, not many outside of their neighbors and family had actually ever seen the children, although they were often subjects of speculation and gossip due to the public's love of his work and Angelina's short and stellar gameplay as a Holyhead Harpy before retiring.

Today, however, Fred had insisted that the day he held his first true wand was much too important to do as anyone other than himself, even if it was only his appearance that was changed. He also desperately wanted his parents to be there. After a family discussion about what this could mean for their trip, George and Angelina finally conceded.

So here they were. Being stared at as whispers followed them from shop to shop, the children too excited to do anything but speculate on what house Fred would end up in. ("Gryffindor, obviously, just like Mum and Dad!")

Angelina walked unconcernedly with her family, although George could see her worry in the taut line of her jaw and the slight flare of her nostrils. He too was nervous, his eyes seeking out the perpetrators of the stares, desperately hoping that no one would approach them for autographs or otherwise.

They were approaching Ollivander's, and both George and Angelina were growing more agitated as they thought of the unsettling old man and his sharp intuition. He could identify the user of every wand he had ever made, and often recognized people by naming their parent's wands.

Although many had expected Ollivander to retire after his capture and torture in the war, he steadfastly opened his shop back up. He was truly dedicated to his craft, and the shop looked the same as ever from the outside, with the single wand still on the faded purple pillow.

As they entered, the children instinctually fell silent. There were rows upon rows of shelves, containing thousands of wand-boxes. Dust motes glittered in the sun-beam from the window, the store seeming otherwise undisturbed. There was a string of what George recognized as tufts of fur tied with thin silver ribbon and some kind of feathers strung over the door and over the top of the shelves. Both he and Angelina smiled slightly at this reminder of Luna's influence in Ollivander's life after the war.

Just as Roxanne had begun to fidget nervously, Ollivander's figure, still tall and proud and unbent with age, emerged from the back of the shop. For a man who had to be well into his late hundreds, he did not look it. Although his face was wizened and his curly white hair wild and thin, he stood and moved like a young man, his large silvery eyes luminescent in the sparse lighting.

"Ah, welcome!" he said, looking at George and Angelina. "I've been expecting you, young man." His gaze bored into Fred, who audibly gulped.

"I remember your parents' wands quite well – both very different, but well-suited to them, of course. Which is your wand hand?"

As Fred extended his left hand to Ollivander, George and Angelina looked at each other, relieved, hoping that he would say nothing else on the subject. Ollivander got to work, his eyes glinting fiercely in excitement, and the pile of tried wands grew larger and larger. Finally, after many boxes had exploded from shelves, and the ceiling had shortened by several inches, one last wand was placed into Fred's hand. From its tip exploded a shower of silver sparks and the pure peal of bells sounded loud and lovely around them.

"Very interesting, young Weasley" Ollivander intoned, looking somehow thrilled and grave all at once. "Your wand is thirteen inches, Fir and phoenix feather, very supple. I have no doubt you'll have an interesting life."

With that, Angelina paid for the wand ("That will be nine Galleons") and they left the shop, Ollivander taking George aside for a moment as the children exited with their mother.

"Do take care with him," he said, "Fir wands are often known as survivor's wands. I have no doubt we can expect some talented skill from your boy."

George shook his hand and bid him well, leaving the shop with a wave. Those parting words rang in his ears long after he and his family had returned home for the evening.


	2. Chapter One - A Beginning and an End

George had decided that he and Angelina should take the children to Platform Nine and Three Quarters the muggle way for their first trip. There was something about crossing the barrier that made the beginning of the year more real and exciting. Seeing the change between the muggle and magical sides had only helped with those feelings. Now he hoped to share it with both Fred and Roxanne.

As they approached the barrier, Fred looked up at him, a tiny hint of fear in his dark eyes. George gave him an encouraging smile. "Go on, just run right through. We'll meet you on the other side."

With a slight moment of hesitance, Fred looked at his family quickly before turning, pushing his trunk ahead of him, and breaking out at a dead run towards the platform. As he disappeared, Angelina took Roxanne's hand and walked her to the barrier, George following closely behind.

Passing through the barrier, George took a deep breath, taking in all the sights and sounds of the platform before coming to a stop beside his son.

"Alright?" he asked quietly, resting his hand on Fred's shoulder.

"I think so," Fred replied. "Look, there's Uncle Harry with Teddy!" He pointed off to their left, where Teddy and Harry were indeed flooing onto the platform, followed closely by Andromeda.

Roxanne and Fred rushed towards Teddy excitedly, dodging others on the platform, while Angelina and George followed at a more sedate pace. Teddy was in his school robes, and Roxanne seemed already to be questioning him if his rapidly changing hair colour and expressive hand movements were anything to go by.

"What am I then? The postman?" joked Harry indignantly as the children rushed passed him in favour of his godson.

"That would make a nice change of pace for you, Harry."

"You're right of course, Angelina – you've been speaking with Ginny, I take it?"

Angelina grinned and nodded at him as George shook his hand and bussed Andromeda on the cheek.

"How are the little blighters, Harry?"

"They're doing well, thanks, George. We missed you at brunch this week though."

Sunday brunch was a new tradition that had been instituted by Molly Weasley after the war, partly to help in both her grieving, and that of her family. All of Molly's loved ones were invited once every two weeks for a day filled with good food, relaxed conversation, and cooing over the children. This week, George and Angelina couldn't bring themselves to share their last Sunday with Fred and Roxanne all together.

"Leave the boy alone, Harry. He's sending his first off to school, after all." Andromeda chimed in, patting George on the shoulder as she looked over at the children.

Still engaged in animated conversation, the children had drifted closer to the train, Teddy leading them. Fred's eyes were alight with excitement, and George and Angelina couldn't help but smile at the sight. Some of Teddy's friends had joined them and Roxanne's eyes were getting bigger at whatever it was they were saying.

The adults chuckled as they caught a couple stray words.

"Trolls, eh? That always was a classic," said George.

"What did you tell him this year then?"

"Only that the sorting involved a lineup of tabby cats and our lovely Headmistress Minnie, and I'll not be saying anymore about that!"

As Andromeda and Harry laughed, George and Angelina waved and made their way back over to Fred and Roxanne just as Teddy's friends were dispersing.

As Angelina was saying her goodbyes, and reminding Fred to change into his uniform on the train, George could see her sadness. She was a wonderful mother, and George loved her dearly. They were often very similar, but it wasn't for that reason that he knew what she was thinking in that moment.

It wasn't the close to twelve years they had spent together, nor the birth of Fred or Roxanne. It was the shadow of an event long past, whispering in both their ears. Fred was going off to a school where they had spent seven long years. Where professors and the children of their peers would wonder at his looks, and perhaps get up the nerve to comment upon them.

Fred was going to a place where many love stories had unfolded, where fights and homework and accidents happened. He was going to a place where many lives had been lost, even the lives of those that had lived on after that day. George embraced his son and wished him well, standing beside his small family, and Harry and Andromeda as they waved off their boys.

As the train rounded the bend and roared out of sight, George couldn't help but hope for an easier life for his son.


	3. Chapter Two - First Year

Being sorted into Gryffindor was no large surprise to Fred and George Weasley, nor to their older brothers, who had thus far survived their antics back at their home, the Burrow. Wand thievery and booby traps were not uncommon occurrences during the summer, nor were sudden clothing modifications or stealthy footsteps at all hours of the day and night.

Now in their first week at Hogwarts, the twins had set out to discover all the hidden places in the castle. Forgotten rooms, secret courtyards, passageways concealed by portraits and tapestries – their intent was to leave no corner unexplored. They had decided early on that the first month in the castle was for reconnaissance purposes only. The fun would begin once they knew the castle and its residents as well as they could. Soon, their housemates would learn to be wary of their identical grins during mealtimes and between classes, but during their first week they were just assumed to be rather innocent and jovial boys. (Bill, Charlie, and Percy refrained from disabusing people of this notion, knowing that they would learn the truth soon enough.)

Their new head of house, Professor McGonagall, knew far better than to assume the twins innocent. She could spot a troublemaker a mile away, and although the boys were well-behaved and attentive enough in her class, their slightly mischievous grins gave them away from the very first hour. She knew that as they got older, she'd have her hands full with their antics, and it was all she could do to be thankful that she had at least had three calmer Weasley boys to begin with.

Musing upon her new first years, Professor McGonagall was not to know that at the very moment the boys in question were roaming about the castle, looking for secrets. Today was their sixth day in the castle, and so they had begun exploring the fifth floor. Fred had been all for setting out on their very first night, but George had talked him down, suggesting that it may not be a good idea to test their mother's temper so early on in the year.

They shared a dormitory with two other boys, but it was easy enough to sneak out when sneaking came as easily to you as breathing. So they set out on their sixth night in the castle, roll of parchment with quill and ink in hand, feet silent despite the old trainers they wore. Passing the Prefect's bathroom, they stopped for a couple minutes to try and guess the password. After many unsuccessful alliterations and a couple rude suggestions involving mermaids, they creeped on past the hospital tower corridor, not lingering there for fear of Madame Pomfrey's sharp senses. Walking to the clock tower balcony, they paused to lean out over the edge and look down, taking in the myriad of staircases and courtyard below. Moving on past the music room, which was littered with music stands and a forgotten clarinet, the boys stopped every now and then to examine the runes that snaked down the hallway, embedded in the old stone walls and sometimes even over busts and statues.

They had realized very quickly that not very many people took notice of the runes, although they had seen Bill two nights ago examining them in a corridor he evidently thought was empty at the time. After they had picked up a basic runes text from the library, the twins knew that it may take quite a long time to decipher what it was exactly that the runes were for. Still, they had found the runes for _hidden_ and _secret_, in the hopes that they may point in the right direction. So far, nothing, but still they kept on, George stopping to look at a portrait of a nervously twitching eye that was next to a rather large portrait of a sleeping man who was muttering what sounded like conspiracy theories.

Right there, etched between the two, was the faded rune for _hidden. _Fred motioned excitedly to George, who was on the other side of the corridor. Staring first at the runes, then at the paintings, George whispered, "Well, what do you reckon?"

"There's got to be something here, maybe behind one of the paintings!"

"Yes well, the only problem is, one is a great giant eyeball, and the other's asleep."

The eye seemed to twitch more in their direction as they debated on whether or not to wake the man in the other portrait, leading them to believe that there may be other portraits of disembodied parts. They eventually decided to return to see the portrait of the man again when it was awake, and in the meantime they would have a little competition to see who could find the most paintings of the disembodied parts within the end of the month – loser subjugated to ordeal chosen by the winner.

Turning to go back in the direction they came, Fred stopped dead for a moment.

"What is it?"

"I've just realized – look! We couldn't see that from the other side!" Fred made a motion towards the statue of the rather unpleasant looking man that blended into a wall alcove. He was holding a potions vial, and upon it was the rune for –

"Secret!" exclaimed George.

They both examined the statue very closely, their hands coming to rest upon the potions vial. As Fred felt along the stem and George along the bottom, they both felt a slight shifting sensation as tumblers fell into place. With a soft grinding noise, the statue's lower half swung open to reveal a staircase leading downwards. They looked at each other, their faces splitting into identical grins as they descended the staircase into the unknown.

The passage concealed beneath the statue of Gregory the Smarmy would be the first of many discoveries made by Fred and George in Hogwarts castle.


	4. Chapter Three - Lee

After their first discovery, Fred and George were very keen on making more. They began of course with the _hidden _rune that was centered between the portrait of the nervously twitching eye and the mustached man, who when awake turned out to be rather jumpy and frightened himself. He demanded that passerby cover up the portrait of the eye, insisting that it was watching him, and that it was 'one of _them_'. Intent on humoring the portrait, the twins waited until the corridor was empty one Thursday evening just at the beginning of dinner before hanging a blanket over the giant eye.

After they had done so, the mustached man beckoned them closer, his features shifting nervously. Following this was a guessing game, rather like the one that had taken place in front of the Prefect's bathroom during their previous exploration. It seemed that the portrait was forbidden from telling students the password to whatever was hidden behind him, or indeed that he even had a password. But his cryptic comments and odd vocabulary choices eventually led them to guessing a rather unlikely password and gaining entry to a secret passageway that upon exploration, led all the way down to the middle courtyard.

Thrilled and emboldened by their discovery, Fred and George continued to search the castle for secrets in their spare time. During the course of the first few months of their first year, the twins managed to find three hidden alcoves, another secret passage, the location of the Slytherin common room, and some house elves who proved to be quite happy to fulfill requests for snacks and other things.

Keeping a low profile in the beginning of the year, they made an effort to do well in their classes, as well as get to know their classmates. They had, in fact, come across Lee Jordan attempting to speak with a portrait of a giant mouth hidden behind a tapestry in an alcove near the herbology corridor. A scrawny black boy with short dreds and a cheerful demeanor, he immediately pulled them into the alcove when he saw them peeking in. They then spent a good twenty minutes with Lee trying to coax the mouth to speak, and then gave in when it continued to do nothing but gnash and bare its teeth at them.

With that, Lee and the Weasley twins became a trio of sorts, and could be seen eating and studying together often. It came as a surprise to both twins that Lee had discovered not only the portrait of the mouth, but also the second eye, and what he assumed was a cheek, making him the winner of the contest they had begun when they had seen the portrait of the nervously twitching eye beside the mustached man. Unbeknownst to them, Lee had overheard them speaking of the bet over dinner one evening. After trying to make friends with their other roommate, he had found him to be a rather boring and forgettable boy.

As the Weasleys seemed to be fun-loving, he decided to win their contest in order to win them over. As he named his terms to winning the bet, the twins looked at each other and grinned.

"Knew about the contest then, did you?" they said, almost in unison.

Lee merely grinned back, and proceeded to repeat his terms. Agreeing to them, Fred and George proceeded to find out where Filch's office was. They quickly located it on the ground floor, just off the Entrance hall. There was a small hallway adjacent to it that led to a small tower – the long list of forbidden items on the door quickly gave it away for what it was.

Nicking something from it would be tricky, but they were determined to see the bet through. And it wasn't just 'something', it had to be 'something _interesting_', which Lee told them they could interpret as they liked. There were sure to be plenty of interesting items in the office, they assumed, so they made no planning as to what would be taken and concentrated instead on getting in.

The only problem they could determine was the cat – Mrs Norris. The blasted thing was so quick and quiet it was impossible to tell when she was about to come across you. They had had to run from her several nights during their exploration of the castle. Their best bet would have to be to cause a distraction far enough away from the office that one of them could slip in and take something. When they brought up the idea in front of Lee, he was quick to dismiss it. ("You both lost the contest, so you're in this together now!")

Their opportunity ended up coming at an entirely unexpected time. The twins had decided quite early on that potions would be dead useful things to master – and just as early on that Severus Snape would not be the man to help them do so. The man was quite obviously so bitter that he could out-sour an orchard of lemons. There was also the fact that he seemed to have an intense dislike of anyone clothed in red and gold robes. He, like Professor McGonagall, could sense right off that they were troublemakers. Unlike McGonagall, however, he seemed intent to punish them for it even before they transgressed against him.

So it was at the end of one particularly fortuitous day that they were caught setting off dungbombs in his classroom – by none other than Filch himself. Snarling in glee, he seized each of them by an ear and dragged them to his office, muttering under his breath all the while. When they finally arrived, he made them sit in front of his desk while he paced in front of what appeared to be an array of chains and manacles hanging from the wall. As he was distracted by what sounded like a rant about hanging students from the ceiling by their ankles, George managed to set off another dungbomb just under Filch's desk. Filch immediately grabbed for it to throw it out of the office, and very quickly, Fred opened the drawer of the filing cabinet beside him – the one marked '_Confiscated and Highly Dangerous_'.

Grabbing the first thing he could get his hands on, Fred tugged on George's sleeve before escaping the office. They ran madly all the way back to Gryffindor tower, and upon entering the common room, collapsed in the large window seat, panting. Bill, who was reading in front of the fire, took one look at them and retreated to his room, not wanting to be involved in any of their antics on what had so far proved to be a quiet day.

Regaining their breath, the twins finally looked at what they had stolen from Filch in the name of a contest lost.

In unison, they spoke with dismay, "A blank piece of parchment?"


	5. Chapter Four - Angie and Ali

Fred and George soon discovered that the blank piece of parchment they had nicked from Filch's office was not quite as it appeared, when it began to insult them rather creatively, handwriting blooming across the page in black ink.

_Mssrs Moony and Prongs wonder at the intelligence of supposed pranksters who believe that anything stolen from a cabinet marked 'Confiscated and Highly Dangerous' is exactly as it appears._

Rather affronted and abashed at being outsmarted by a bit of parchment, they attempted to coax its secrets out of it. The bit of parchment was having none of that, resolutely refusing to reveal what it actually was or how to activate it. Lee laughed himself silly at their misfortune, accepting it as an 'interesting' object, even if they couldn't figure it out.

So first year continued as usual, Fred, George, and Lee attending classes, attending quidditch matches, and practicing pranks. It was at a Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw quidditch match that they took notice of their year-mate, Angelina Johnson. Sitting in the very front row of the Gryffindor stands, she was half-hanging out of the box, screaming at the chasers as they fouled up yet another classic chaser's formation. Her long black hair was braided tightly, falling just past her shoulders, bouncing as she waved her arms. Taking seats directly behind her, the match was certainly far more entertaining than it otherwise would have been.

While it was true that Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup for the past three years, it was only by virtue of having their brother Charlie as a seeker. He was a natural in the air, avoiding bludgers and breaking up the opposing team's formations, all while keeping a focused eye out for the snitch. Their chasers' teamwork was very poor, and although their beaters were decent, they were both seventh years, meaning that suitable replacements would have to be found during tryouts next year.

As the game continued (Ravenclaw 40 points up), Angelina grew louder and louder, even as the announcer (a rather condescending seventh year Hufflepuff by the name Smith) predicted a Gryffindor win. As Charlie spotted the snitch and dove, her voice seemed to go up many octaves, culminating in an ear-splitting screech of joy as he caught it. She jumped up and down in excitement, spinning around and seizing whoever she could in celebratory hugs. Lee, caught up in the taller girl's arms for a moment, froze in shock as the twins grinned at him.

A party celebrating Gryffindor's win later dominated the common room, butterbeer and pastries seemingly having appeared from nowhere. During the celebrations, they were introduced semi-formally to Angelina, as well as to another year-mate of theirs, Alicia Spinnet, who also held a rather large interest in quidditch. They all spoke about that and about their classes for a bit before the party was broken up in the mid-evening by Bill and a silently pleased Head of House.

From that evening onwards, Angelina and Alicia became their friends, and they would on occasion join them during meals in the Great Hall, and to study as well. Angelina was a natural in Transfiguration, while Alicia was very good in Herbology. The girls would sigh in mock exasperation whenever the boys left their study sessions for 'secret business', knowing that they would be up to no good.

Lee received endless good-natured ribbing from the twins, who knew of his infatuation with her since she had hugged him at the quidditch match. At each match since, he had always positioned himself in a seat directly behind her, trying to recreate the moment without success. It was on a rainy day studying in the library, Ms Pince prowling around, that Fred and George were leaving them with the excuse of writing to their little sister, Ginny, when Alicia said "No need for poor excuses, we know you're up to no good."

The twins waved, and upon reaching a deserted corridor, George opened his bookbag to withdraw the map they'd been creating from their explorations.

"Fred," he exclaimed excitedly, "Look at this."

He pulled the blank piece of parchment from his bag to show it to Fred. Upon it were the words:

_Mssr Padfoot is deeply disappointed that these so-called pranksters were so close to knowing our secrets. _

_Mssrs Wormtail and Moony are amused that it is not even the unholy identicals themselves who were closest, but _girls.

"So something one of the girls said was almost… a password?" Fred mused.

George grinned as he recalled Alicia's words and where the bit of parchment was found. "I am up to no good," he stated.

_Mssr Prongs would like to congratulate you, but unfortunately you did not emphasize the great importance of our noble work. _

Now it was Fred's turn: "I am always up to no good?" George scoffed at him.

"Always? Really, Fred?"

_Mssr Moony would like to remind the identicals that dissent amongst allies quickly devolved into messes. _

This trend of guesses continued all the way back to Gryffindor tower, exploration abandoned in favor of the parchment now that they were so close to finding out its purpose. Odd looks followed them as they continued to guess, appearing to passerby to be saying disjointed sentences and ignoring each other but staring intently into George's book bag all the while.

Finally, just before reaching the portrait of the Fat Lady, they looked at each other suddenly and said in unison "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

And with that, the whole of Hogwarts castle was open to them.


	6. Chapter Five - Quidditch

Lee was shocked that the previously blank piece of parchment, later turned insult generator, was actually an expansive map of the school and grounds, including what appeared to be several secret passageways and rooms. Hidden alcoves didn't seem to appear on the map, but the castle was changeable enough that it was already amazing the map could keep up with roving rooms and changing staircases. To add to the already fantastic bonus of not having to make a map of their own, _this_ map showed a dot with tiny script denoting a name for the location of every person in the castle, as well as bonded familiars (like Mrs Norris and Fawkes).

With this marvelous discovery, the twins and Lee spent hours just searching the map and watching the movements of the castle's many residents. The walls and corridors of the map, upon further scrutiny, appeared to be made up of thousands of tiny runes, a small clue into the magic that went into making it.

The Marauders, as they called themselves, soon became sort-of idols for Fred and George, who not only admired clever and fun rule breaking, but also impressive and beautiful feats of magic, which the Marauder's Map most certainly was. With the discovery of the Map, first year ended marvelously for the twins and Lee, who had, with its invaluable knowledge, arranged a display of Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks in the Entrance Hall in the morning before getting on the Hogwarts Express back to the Burrow. Owl order and magical maps truly were marvelous things.

Their summer passed in a haze of good food, good-natured pranking, and a farewell to Bill, who was going into his Cursebreaker's apprenticing program at Gringotts at the beginning of August. Their mother was torn between immense pride in her eldest son and immense worry, pacing around the house and cooking and cleaning like a madwoman to keep her mind off the dangerous things that he could be doing at any given moment of the day. It was understood that even as an apprentice, cursebreaking was a dangerous business, as the goblins were not lenient teachers. They taught only the best, and they held nothing back, their apprentices always halved by drop-outs at the end of the first year.

Seeing their little brother and sister for some degree of permanence during the summer was a nice change, as was their mother's cooking. The Hogwarts house elves were good cooks, but no-one beat Molly Weasley when it came to a good home-cooked meal. The

Family quidditch matches were won and lost, and through letters with Lee, Angelina, and Alicia, Fred and George decided that at the beginning of Second Year, they would try-out for the Gryffindor quidditch team. The past year's beaters had graduated, and the twins felt that their natural compatibility and sense of where the other was would help them greatly in quidditch. They devoted the summer to training, doing laps around the Burrow in the mornings before the household had risen, and initiated flying contests and quidditch games as often as they could. Angelina, Alicia, and Lee were all going to try out for chaser, although Lee wouldn't be able to join Angie and Ali for practice sessions as he was going to Spain to visit a favorite Aunt during the summer.

Before they knew it, summer had passed and they were back on the Express, making their way to school once more.

Despite their new routine, and Charlie's new position as Quidditch Captain, he hadn't seemed to realize the twins' goals, and was intensely surprised at the beginning of the new school year when they showed up to the quidditch tryouts along with their friends.

There would be no seeker tryouts this year, because Charlie himself held that position. He insisted that all other positions be based on tryout results, even for the members of last year's team that remained at school. He wanted fair results, and the chance for new talent to make itself known. The first tryouts were for Keeper, and there was really no contest as to who would get the position. Three people tried out, two fifth years and a third year. It was obvious from the beginning that the third year was rabidly determined to get the position, and he beat out his competition quite soundly, letting out a whoop of joy when Charlie told him he was on the team.

Next up were chasers, and Angelina, Alicia, and Lee joined the line-up of hopefuls quite eagerly. There were a smattering of third to sixth years who had turned up, but to everyone's surprise, there was also a tiny girl with intensely dark eyes and hair sitting astride a school broom, marking her as no more than a first year. Evidently passionate, she wasn't about to let the fact that she wasn't allowed to have her _own_ broom stop her from trying out.

She did very well, Charlie had to admit, but she couldn't match Angelina and Alicia's already brilliant teamwork or impressive speed – and nor could Lee, when it came down to it. Although he tried his best, Lee was simply not a good Quidditch player. Disappointed but unsurprised, he went to sit in the stands and watch the rest of the tryouts as Charlie spoke to each of the applicants. He spoke to the first year, whose name turned out to be Katie Bell, letting her know that he was impressed with her speed and her determination, and inviting her to stay on as a reserve team member this year, so that next year she had a large chance of replacing Ava Bennet, the seventh year that was currently center chaser. Finally, Charlie came to Angelina and Alicia, and to no-one's surprise, they were quickly made members of the Gryffindor quidditch team.

The next tryout set was for beaters, and Charlie smiled wryly as his brothers stepped forward along with three other hopefuls. The beater tryouts were a confusion of attempting to dislodge all others from their brooms while trying to stay on your own while a total of six bludgers roamed the pitch. One of the other applicants went down in the first two minutes, the others managing to stay on for another six, while Fred and George were left to try and knock each other off their brooms for the remainder of the fifteen minute timeslot. They were so evenly matched that it was a fruitless attempt, and by the end of it, they were still both sitting astride their brooms unharmed, guaranteeing their places on the team.

The lineup was a good one: Seeker and Captain Charlie Weasley, Chasers Ava Bennet, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet, Beaters Fred and George Weasley, and Keeper Oliver Wood. Those who were heard complaining about the youth of the new players, or the familiar relationship were soon silenced when the Gryffindor team went on to trounce the other teams and win the Quidditch Cup.


	7. Chapter Six - Mad Urges

Years had passed, and Fred and George Weasley were as irrepressible as ever, terrorizing the castle's residents in the name of fun and lifting of spirits. Seventh Year was finally upon them, and the enormity of that had seemed to occur to all of them, as the war caught up to them and increased in outright severity. Last year's events, namely the death of Cedric Diggory and the return of Lord Voldemort had been especially revealing for the Weasleys, the oldest of whom actually remembered growing up during the end of the first war.

Dark times were upon them. They could feel it in their brother Percy's estrangement and in the deepening lines around their mother's eyes. The Tri-Wizard tournament had not brought the spirit of international cooperation to England, it had merely distanced them from other nations who feared more than anything, their incompetence. Sixth year had brought about some interesting developments for the twins, like the reinforcement of their belief that doing well in class meant nothing if you weren't actually learning anything.

For them this meant advancement of their research and development skills, precise wand work, and spell and potions creation. The fact was that they were very advanced in all of the subjects they were taking, and even some that they weren't, but simply didn't care to waste their time achieving good marks when it could be spent doing far more practical things. Some of their Professors, such as Flitwick and Vector, more than suspected the brilliance of the twins and had offered to help refine their knowledge in the subjects they taught, if ever they needed it.

George was flattered and rather touched by these offers, while Fred tended to laugh them off without taking them seriously. So it was that on an overcast evening while Fred was completing a transfiguration essay, George made his way to see Professor Vector about working through some complex spell creation theories that he was working with. He had made secret trips like this since their third year, when the offers had been made. Fred knew nothing of it, because George always feared the mocking barbs that would come his way from his brother's inability to understand his desire to learn from people who were masters in their subjects.

It seemed now that they had money for their joke shop, that it would actually become a reality in the very near future, and both boys were hard at work developing and testing new products. Fred saw the creation process as a hard slog to reach the final product, while George relished it almost more than he did the results themselves. Being able to _create_ something was incredible, and it saddened him that it was something he kept from Fred.

During his disappearances, Fred assumed that George was out in a broom closet somewhere, working his way through all the houses, and it was not a notion that George disabused him of. In their second year, when George had continued to show more than a passing interest in doing well in class, he had been on the receiving end of some unintentionally cruel remarks from his twin that had stayed with him in the years since. Fred didn't mean to be cruel, but that didn't change that on occasion his opinions became so defined for him that it was difficult not to cut others with their jarring contrast. Thus, George had stopped pursuing his academics publicly, instead pursuing his interests in secret, like a criminal.

He felt sick, keeping such an important part of himself from his twin. As children, he and Fred had been two of a kind, but as they grew older, George's greatest fear was that they would grow apart. He had only to look at Percy's estrangement for an example that hit close to home. While it was true that Percy had always been a bit of a prick, he was also _family_ and his brother's absence had truly begun to eat away at him from the inside.

Returning that evening from his meet-up with Professor Vector, mulling over her solution to the equations they had been discussing, it was pure accident that he walked headlong into Katie Bell and almost toppled them both down a flight of stairs.

Catching her just in the nick of time, he blushed all the way to his ears as he looked down at her. His right hand scratched at the back of his head in an embarrassed gesture.

"Er… sorry about that, Katie."

"Not a problem," she replied breezily "but in the future I would really prefer you didn't try to kill me by sending me down the stairs."

"I was thinking."

She raised one dark eyebrow. "Oh, how silly of me. You were _thinking._" She looked at him expectantly.

George blushed even harder, feeling as though his face was burning as he tried to come up with something that didn't sound so ridiculous. As he did so, he couldn't help but wonder at his reaction. He and Katie were friends. Well, teammates, really. He shouldn't be so unsettled at the prospect of a conversation with her, a simple apology.

However, as she looked up at him, eyebrow still raised, and dark hair gleaming in the torchlight, he was filled with the sudden mad urge to lean in and kiss her. He drew a fraction closer to her, and she seemed to catch her breath, her deep brown eyes widening.

He had never been one to ignore mad urges.


	8. Chapter Seven - Katie Bell

Katie Bell was in a wonderful mood. It was the beginning of her sixth year, and she had just been kissed by a Weasley twin. The fact that she didn't yet know _which_ twin it was didn't mar her good spirits. They were both decent blokes, and she wouldn't mind either of them kissing her.

Maybe some would have been unsettled by that, but it wasn't as if she thought they were interchangeable. She just liked them well enough, but didn't know enough of them to decide with whom she would rather be involved with yet. It had nothing to do with the fact that they were twins, or even brothers.

Katie had always been a determined person, for as long as she could remember. From the moment she had showed up to quidditch tryouts in her first year, she had established herself as a force to be reckoned with. She wanted to do well, and she wasn't afraid to let people know. She wanted to be a top chaser, and so she was. She succeeded academically, being in the top ten of her year, and she was determined to succeed romantically as well.

She had dated casually before, a Hufflepuff in the year above her, but she eventually broke it off, realizing what she really wanted. She wanted more than a flight of school fancy, or a teenage boy salivating over her quidditch-toned body. She wanted love. She wanted passion. And so she would have it.

Fred and George Weasley were incredibly good looking boys, tall and toned, and not afraid of a good laugh. Clear blue eyes and ginger hair completed the packages that Katie thought were quite perfect, and after five years on the same quidditch team, she had hoped that one of the twins would take notice of her romantically. It hadn't happened, and she noticed that Fred was already rather taken with Angelina. She couldn't blame him. She and Angie were friends, and she was both beautiful and fun to be around.

Still, it took one twin off the market. There was still a chance that the twin that had kissed her earlier in the evening was Fred, but in the comfort of her bed that evening, Katie decided that was unlikely. The kisser had fled immediately after doing so, so she would find out for certain at breakfast the next day when one or the other avoided her gaze, or avoided her altogether. She would be glad to find out either way.

In the morning her discovery was stymied by the absence of both twins, and of Lee as well. Angie and Ali greeted her as she arrived at breakfast and they chatted amicably before heading on to their respective classes. She spent her morning Ancient Runes class in deep concentration, although not on the chart they were supposed to be completing.

She was remembering how it had felt last night, the kiss. One moment she had almost been sent down a flight of stairs, and the next, she was staring into a pair of deep blue eyes, a strong arm wound tightly around her waist. They had spoken and she had raised her eyebrow at him challengingly, a skill she was absurdly proud of, it had taken her so long to accomplish perfectly. He had flushed bright red, all the way to the tips of his ears, and something had sparked in his eyes before he leaned forward slightly and all she could think was _I hope this is really happening_.

Their lips had met and her mind had gone silent with the sheer wonder of it, soft and skilled, and one of his hands was in her hair and the other cupping her face, and then it was done. And he was gone, racing down the corridor away from her as her lashes fluttered in weak protest and a silly smile blossomed on her face.

Thinking of the kiss, Katie was caught in her inattention as the bell rang for the end of class, jarring her. She leapt up and gave the Professor a small wave as she exited the room hurriedly, making her way back to Gryffindor Tower for her free period.

She had almost reached the Seventh floor when a hand burst out from behind a tapestry of flitting fairies, and dragged her through it. On the other side of the tapestry, in a hidden alcove, stood a confident looking Weasley twin.

"Hello again," he said, grinning at her unabashedly. "After thinking it over last night, I thought it would be in my best interest to apologize for running from you last night."

Katie caught her breath as she looked at him and replied, "Is it going to be the same sort of stellar apology I got yesterday?" She leaned closer, her hands on his chest. "Because I could do with another one of those."

Their lips met for the second time and Katie realized once more that she still didn't know which twin she was kissing. That thought fled quickly from her mind as their kiss grew passionate, their breaths coming quickly as they embraced.

Just as a warm hand had begun to inch up the bottom of her shirt, the tapestry was ripped open with a loud "AHA". They sprang apart quickly as the voice and light intruded upon their privacy, and Katie saw with horror that it was none other than Dolores Umbridge.

"How utterly shameful," the toad-like woman said. "Miss Bell, I'm sure that your parents would be appalled at your actions. And as for you, Mr Weasley, I'm sure that a detention tonight would make a lasting impression." She smiled, her expression sickly sweet. "Which one are you? I shall have to put this on your record."

As he remained resolutely silent, she prompted, "Well?" He glared at her sullenly as he replied "I'm George."

"Very well, off to your common room straightaway! I shall be having a word with Professor McGonagall about this, and I will see you later, Mr Weasley." She then stood there, arms crossed, and watched as they left for the Gryffindor common room.

As they rounded the corner and headed up the stairs to the seventh floor, Katie looked at George and smiled. "Well then, George. Nice to know who I've been kissing."


	9. Chapter Eight - Angelina Johnson

Although they weren't overt about their new relationship, Angelina knew that Katie and George were now an item, or almost one. They made eyes at each other over dinner sometimes, and Fred seemed to be teasing his brother good-naturedly a bit more often.

They were never seen outright holding hands or kissing, but George would often walk her to class, and they would both mysteriously disappear at around the same times. With his brother now distracted, Fred seemed a little on edge, working on joke products with an almost manic gleam in his eye that worried Angelina. Fred often didn't know when to stop, and it was George that usually gave him a gentle nudge in the right direction. Without with almost constant presence, Fred was looking a little lost.

Angelina felt a little sad for them, thinking that now their closeness must be the result of effort more than similarity, even if it was unconscious. Still, she admired Fred's drive and determination, and had been a little infatuated with him since he had taken her to the Yule Ball last year. They had gone as friends, and during the night he had acted the perfect gentleman. Too perfect for her tastes, actually. She wanted the Fred who made her laugh and would spike the punch.

It wasn't a romantic evening, and although she wasn't expecting it to be, she was still disappointed that he hadn't even tried to kiss her. Things had remained friendly between them after the Ball and into their seventh year, but 'friendly' wasn't what Angie wanted. She wanted Fred to be hers, and she wasn't going to be shy about it any longer.

So on a night when Fred, George, and Lee were sneaking into the common room late, she sat and waited on the couch in front of the fire for them. As they entered, she stood and said "Fred, a word?"

"Sure, Angie," he replied, waving the other two up to their dormitory. "What can I help you with?"

She did not reply, letting her actions do so for her as she fisted the front of his robes to bring him closer and kissed him. They were exactly the same height, and they melted into one another, hands tangling in hair and robes.

When they finally separated, colour was high on Fred's cheeks and he looked at her with a question in his eyes.

"Friendship isn't enough, Fred," Angie whispered, drawing closer once more.

"No," he replied, "it isn't."

In the morning they were found leaning against one another on the couch, fast asleep, Fred's hand still tangled in her hair. Lee smiled sadly to himself when he came down from the dormitory and saw them, leaving the common room silently. It seemed that now Angelina was well and truly out of his reach.

The next couple of weeks passed well for Fred and Angelina, both of them making time in their already mad schedules for each other. Angelina was thrilled that this year she was given the responsibility of Quidditch Captaincy, and was doing all she could to ensure a Gryffindor win. She had created a new training regimen for the team, and was really hoping that Ron especially would be able to pull through the season. After the trouble she had gone through to get the team reinstated after another of Umbridge's ridiculous decrees, most of her focus was on making them unbeatable.

But then it happened. Following their win over Slytherin, that disgusting Malfoy boy had taunted the twins until George snapped. With him went Harry Potter. And with the both of them went any chance at winning the Quidditch Cup. Three of her best and most key players, banned! For life!

Angelina was absolutely furious. More than furious – she was livid. Not only was Fred now frustrated and aimless, the best chance she had at being professionally scouted was ruined! Her future career in quidditch was now going to be a lot more difficult to achieve than she had previously expected. Dreams of being signed on with the Montrose Magpies or Holyhead Harpies after winning the Cup had been washed away quickly by the tempers of teenage boys, and it wasn't fair.

She knew that it wasn't Fred's fault. He hadn't even had a hand in it. But she also knew that he would have if he hadn't been held back. It angered her, how selfish the boys had been – how selfish Fred would have been, given the chance. She didn't speak to him for a week afterwards, knowing it was hurting both of them, but unwilling to say something in unjustified anger that would wound them both even more.

She saw the confused and then progressively colder looks Fred gave her as the week progressed, but she simply couldn't bring herself to break the silence between them. George had begun glaring at her on his brother's behalf during meals, but in her haze of trying to re-plan for her future, she couldn't bring herself to care.

Katie had come to sit beside her in the library while she finished an essay for transfiguration. She set her book bag down and sat silently for about ten minutes before finally speaking.

"He's sorry, you know. They both are." Katie looked at her beseechingly, dark eyes intent on conveying her message.

"Yes, I know."

With that, Katie went back to the dormitories. Angelina sat there for a few hours more, thinking. Her pride was hurt, but so was her chance at a solid career. Fred cared for her deeply, and she didn't know if she was willing to jeopardize that, even in the circumstances. Reaching a decision, she left the library.

Returning to Gryffindor tower, she broke her week of silence with an apology.


	10. Chapter Nine - A Snake in the Night

It was with renewed vigor that Fred and George approached the rest of the school year. Things with Angelina had settled down for Fred, although she was more exhausted and disheartened than ever trying to train her new Quidditch recruits. Katie and George seemed to be doing well too, although no one ever really them together romantically.

Christmas was fast approaching, and the castle's lack of cheer was rather distinct. Umbridge was a massive problem, and the twins were determined to do something about it. Her policies were getting out of hand, and it was quite obvious the power of being "High Inquisitor" was going to her head. Her inspections of the other teachers had not been unexpected, but watching dear old Minnie ignore and dismiss her to the best of her abilities was definitely a treat. After they'd heard about Hagrid's inspection though, their levity lessened as they considered his likely sacking.

After an evening of revision in the D.A. meeting, Fred and George returned to their dorm with Lee to take a product inventory and discuss possible future products and their marketability for owl order. They were truly on their way to opening a shop, and they planned to view some locations during the Christmas holiday. That night, they went to bed with dreams of success on their minds only to be roused by a serious looking Professor McGonagall.

~W-W~

Fred was dreaming of Angelina. He and Angie, his Angie, were flying past the Quidditch pitch, over the Forbidden Forest, and into the mountains. He was chasing her, getting closer and closer to her with each second. Her face was alight with laughter, although he couldn't hear it in the rushing of the wind. He was just close enough to reach out his hand and touch her when –

"Mr Weasley."

Fred frowned. That didn't sound like Angie.

"Mr Weasley, you must wake up."

Fred opened his eyes to find Professor McGonagall hovering over his bed. Any thought of having nightmares over this quickly fled at her next words.

"You both must come with me quickly, now. Your father had been injured."

Fred's heart leapt uncomfortably, and he fell out of bed and joined McGonagall down in the common room, George a silent shadow at his side. They were joined by a pale Ginny, whose freckles stood out against her milky skin like ink. Ginny looked at McGonagall questioningly and asked about Ron, only to be informed that he was already with the Headmaster, and that all would be explained when they arrived.

As they made their way to Dumbledore's office, Fred and George walked on either side of Ginny, trying to comfort her as best they could without knowing what had happened.

Portkeying off to Grimmauld Place, the first thing Fred heard was Kreacher's comment about their father dying, before Sirius' usual roar of 'OUT'. Learning from Harry that their Dad was in St Mungo's after he's been bitten by Voldermort's great dirty snake was… honestly more than Fred could handle. He immediately asked after his mum not because she kept things together in the family (although she did), but because in that moment he honestly wanted nothing more than comfort from her.

When he heard that she was at St Mungo's and that they wouldn't be able to join her, panic and anger overtook him. He and George shouted at Sirius, and Fred almost instantly regretted his last jab about Sirius not risking his neck for the Order. His regret faded quickly as thoughts of his dad dying intruded, and as he and George looked at each other for the first time since they'd received the terrible news, he knew his twin was also thinking of bashing Sirius over the head and making a run for the hospital.

They settled down on either side of Ginny, still seething, while Sirius made some really unappreciated attempts at levity. As Fred glared at the bottle of butterbeer that had been summoned for him, he tried to imagine life at The Burrow without his dad. No more of his dad tinkering out back in the shed, trying to make muggle appliances and other contraptions compatible with magic. His one success with the flying Ford Anglia proved it could be done, and their mum, although publicly disapproving, really was proud of her husband. What would Molly Weasley do, without Arthur there to speak softly and calm her, to make her smile? _She would waste away_, Fred thought, _and then what of Ginny? What of all of us?_

It was at that moment that a burst of fire in midair interrupted his thoughts, and Sirius thrust a piece of parchment from their mum. George read it, hands shaking. Fred was not reassured by it, nor apparently was anyone else. It made it sound like his dad was dying still, that even though he was at the hospital with healers and potions that he was _still going to die. _

He took the letter from George, not willing to believe that his mum would write something so disheartening. It was there, plain ink on parchment, his mum's usually lovely handwriting shaky. He stared at it for a moment before looking blankly at Harry and wondering what would have happened had he not seen the attack. Would his dad have lain alone in an unused corridor in the Ministry, bleeding to death, only to be found days later and labeled a criminal?

His thoughts went round and round in the same way for the rest of the long, sleepless night. He sometimes thought about how Percy would feel, the traitor, knowing that he had abandoned them only to never again see their dad while on good terms. He thought about Cho Chang still bursting into tears over Cedric Diggory's death, and wondered if Ginny would become like a sad imitation of a person like her. Fred thought of the end of Weasley family holidays, with their dad's hand on the clock forever blackened and pointing to 'Deceased'.

Eventually his thoughts turned to uneasy dreams as he dozed off against the table, only to rise as the kitchen door opened and his mum stepped in. Immediately awake, he rose from his chair as she told them that dad would be all right, and that they could go and see him later. He would be all right. Fred collapsed back into his chair, hiding his face in his hands as tears of relief escaped his eyes.

As Fred walked slowly upstairs to collapse into bed, that one thought kept repeating itself in his mind. He was going to be all right.


End file.
